LinkedIn wants Windows 10 users to stay better connected
Seems only fitting that the Microsoft-owned professional network make it easier for Windows 10 to use it, right?
A glimpse of what LinkedIn's app for Windows 10 looks like.
LinkedIn wants to make its platform more convenient for its Windows 10 users.
The Microsoft-owned professional network on Monday launched a new app for users of the operating system. The goal: Let its millions of Windows users experience some of the same features found on LinkedIn's mobile app and desktop site. This includes receiving messages and invites from other members in real time.
Using the app also will provide a more fluid way to stay up-to-date compared with using LinkedIn on a browser, said Chris Pruett, a senior director of engineering who redesigned LinkedIn's desktop site that debuted in January and its upgraded mobile app. About 40 percent of LinkedIn's traffic, from its roughly 500 million members, comes from desktop computers as people scour for jobs, make connections or search for news, while the remaining 60 percent use mobile devices.
"I see the Windows 10 app as another chapter in our evolving story," Pruett said. "It's all about staying connected."
The latest move for LinkedIn arrives a year after Microsoft bought the company for $26.2 billion. Since then, LinkedIn has been trying to keep members engaged by through the upgrades and through new features including messaging; Open Candidates, through which members can discreetly notify recruiters they're job hunting; and Salary, which assists those wanting to earn more money.
Users can tap into the LinkedIn app for Windows 10 by going to the Start menu and taskbar. There's also a Live Tile feature so messages and updates can pop up on members' screens, said Hermes Alvarez, a product manager.
So instead of Windows members switching back and forth between LinkedIn's mobile and desktop versions, now there's a desktop app to handle everything, said Hermes, who compares LinkedIn's new app to Slack, the popular messaging and collaboration service for professionals.
LinkedIn's new app for Windows 10 is available for users in the US on Monday and its global users by the end of July.
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